Many issues are dragging down the morale of outside sales representatives. They have to sell in a tough environment, characterized by "reactionary buying," in which customers buy goods and services only when absolutely essential. In addition, while they have always dealt with price resistance, it has grown more pronounced recently because of the economic recession, the manufacturing slump and world events.

"Sales employee retention is of particular concern right now," says Tom Reilly, president of Tom Reilly Training in St. Louis and writer of Industrial Distribution's Strictly for Sales monthly column. Not making enough sales to earn commissions is disheartening to many new employees.

Making the problem worse, Reilly says 70% of company executives have no experience running a company through an economic downturn, and 60% of salespeople have never sold during trying times. "It can be like the blind leading the blind," says Reilly. "It's having considerable impact because in tough times, salespeople must create opportunities, not just respond to them."

Sounds easier said than done? Below, he and several distributors tell you how, offering 10 ways you can boost your sales team's motivation and productivity:

1) Rethink your goals and incentive programs.

Don't just rely on same ol', same ol'. For example, Industrial Supply Co., Indiana, has been eschewing a goal-oriented sales approach, but company executives soon realized that they have to clarify that approach and the accompanying incentives in order to thrive in a slow economy.

"From a management standpoint, we want to better establish and define the sales goals—both for the company itself and for the individual sales reps," says Jack Simpson, vice president and general sales manager.

The new system will stress "performance measurement," not just incentives, says Simpson. He adds that the company is still determining what types of rewards—whether monetary or other—to offer. But one thing is certain—the goals will be set at the executive level and will include a given number of weekly sales calls, a monthly number of accounts serviced, obtaining new accounts and adding more products to current accounts.

"We'll measure performance more aggressively in hopes of increasing sales, sales reps' salaries and improving customer relations and growing customer loyalty," he says.

2) Don't rely on money to make the problem go away.

Simply increasing sales reps' salaries won't necessarily make them perform better. According to Reilly, too many sales managers are unaware that what their reps need most is support, training and motivation. Instead of a reworked compensation system, he says, most reps want managers to sit down with them and help them handle difficult issues. Managers can accomplish this through regular sales meetings, says Reilly, during which reps can express their concerns as well as share any positive experiences.

"Salespeople need to be able to shine the spotlight on things that are making them feel good as well as bad," he says. "By letting them brag at a sales meeting—rather than just commiserating over bad stuff all the time—the entire team will be infused with a good feeling."

3) Pound the pavement.

Managers can't energize their sales team from behind a desk. They must travel with sales representatives, not only to give salespeople the feeling that everyone is in the same situation, but also to let customers know that the company is stable.

In addition, Reilly encourages sales managers to collect both quantitative and qualitative feedback when hitting the streets with reps, and focus on the qualitative to keep motivation and productivity high. While quantitative measures deal with total product numbers and gross margins, qualitative issues involve customer responses to sales calls.

"Salespeople have immediate control over those qualitative issues, so that's where they need to focus," says Reilly. "That way, they'll feel like they're driving their business to the best of their ability."

4) Train. A lot.

Many companies are surviving in this economy by pursuing new markets. As a result, training sales reps is even more important because they have to be equipped with the tools and know-how to break into new markets. Through training, reps can learn to talk knowledgeably about any relevant regulations and to address customer questions and concerns.

Massachusetts-based Atlantic Fasteners, for example, found that comprehensive sales training courses helped its 6 outside sales reps. "We did it to enhance the reps' sales skills and demonstrate our commitment to their success," says John Kraus, vice president of sales. "It not only boosted their self confidence, but it also helped them identify their strengths and weaknesses and learn new ways to build their sales pipelines."

5) Keep in touch.

Sales reps are the manager's connection to end users, who have their own needs and issues. To gain an understanding of these needs and issues, Kraus from Atlantic Fasteners keeps in contact with his sales reps regularly. He conducts weekly phone or in-person sales meetings, covering the results of the previous week, which major customers were phoned, the results of those calls, plans for the upcoming week, the status of the sales pipeline, and what measures reps are taking to build those pipelines.

"This is a strategy that's allowed our company to grow at a compounded growth rate of over 18% for the past 21 years," says Kraus. "And although we—like many other distributors—aren't experiencing that kind of growth right now, we still think that motivational strategy prevails over the long run."

6) Make sure they get a lot of customer face-time.

When times are tough, don't let your sales reps just sit at their desks, waiting for calls and discussing how slow business is with colleagues. Sales slumps actually represent an opportune time to leave the office and obtain greater face-time with existing and potential customers, says Reilly.

"Part of the management challenge right now is keeping sales reps focused on issues that they have control over, such as their calling activity," says Reilly. "In tough times, I recommend that salespeople increase their face-time with customers by a minimum of 25 percent, and managers need to make sure they are doing that."

7) Encourage them to sell more to current customers.

Acquiring a new customer is five times as expensive as serving a current one, so it makes sense to persuade your reps to work on expanding existing accounts.

For example, at Pennsylvania-based Pro-Am Safety, Inc., sales manager John Gieder regularly pushes reps to return to current customers and show them more products. The company's outside sales reps receive a lot of inside sales support and training on new standards and products so they can better sell to existing customers.

"A good part of my day is spent looking at new products," says Gieder, "and packaging them in a way that my reps can use them to present to a customer and increase business."

8) Be supportive and reassuring.

When business is bad, sales teams often end up the scapegoat. "If a company is laying off employees," says Reilly, "it's inevitable that someone will complain that 'if the salespeople would just get off their butts and sell something, we wouldn't be going through this."

With such finger-pointing, it's hard for managers to keep reps energized but nevertheless, they must reassure their teams that everyone in sales is in the same boat, says Reilly. "Managers have to reinforce the fact that this too shall come to pass, and that it's not never-ending," he adds. "They also have to get their reps focused on issues that they can control, and let go of what they can't control."

9) Keep them in the know.

To keep motivation high in its 75-person inside and outside sales team, California-based Porteous Fastener Co. conducts contests, giving out monetary rewards to those who sell the most products or the highest-margin products each month. But Jay Hebert, senior vice president of sales, realizes that such strategies are not complete without a crucial motivational technique—keeping sales reps informed.

Hebert makes sure that his reps know what's going on in the industry, the competition, the sales environment and the company itself. "We keep our reps in the loop about how the company is faring," says Hebert. "While the reps read the papers and know the score, they also need constant reminders about how their own company is doing."

10) Be inspirational.

To help sales reps sell in an environment where customers demand more but would like to pay less for it, Pro-Am Safety's Gieder tries to keep them inspired. He often reads them a quote from Admiral James Stockdale, "retain the faith that you can and you will prevail in the end, regardless of how difficult the situation is. At the same time, you must face the brutal facts of the reality that you're dealing in."

Gieder also has some words of inspiration of his own. "The challenges are out there, all around the reps," he says. "I tell them that if they keep working hard and plugging through, they'll be successful. That's my message."

Source: 10 Ways to Motivate Your Sales Team
Bridget McCrea
Industrial Distribution, Feb. 1, 2003
http://www.manufacturing.net/ind